Merck's antiviral drug molnupiravir, Women's March, Hurricane Sam: 5 Things podcast

On today's episode of 5 Things: The drug appears to significantly diminish serious illness. Plus, Women's March Day is here amid renewed abortion fights around the country, the House again can't come to infrastructure agreements, Hurricane Sam causes dangerous surf conditions on the East Coast and Tom Brady makes his return to New England.

Hit play on the player above to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript below. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.

Taylor Wilson:

Good morning. I'm Taylor Wilson, and this is 5 Things you need to know, Saturday, the 2nd of October, 2021. Today, an anti-viral pill that could help fight the pandemic. Plus, Tom Brady reunites with New England, and more.

Here are some of the top headlines.

1. New data hacked from the Oath Keepers website found that law enforcement officers signed up to join the anti-government group. The Oath Keepers trade in conspiracy theories and its members have been involved in armed standoffs with the federal government, while some face charges in connection with the January 6th insurrection.
2. Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte says he's retiring from politics. The hard-line president had previously said he would run for vice president in next year's election when his term ends.
3. And a man in Germany faces a steep fine after nearly bringing a mortar shell through airport security. He said he found it during a hiking trip and forgot it was in his bag.

Taylor Wilson:

There's promising news about an experimental antiviral drug against COVID-19. According to a study out yesterday, the pill, from pharma giant Merck, successfully treated half of COVID-19 infections and prevented cases from progressing to hospitalization. The news potentially marks a major turning point in the pandemic. The virus could soon be treated with a pill. The antiviral drug molnupiravir was given to 385 people within five days of their diagnosis with COVID-19 and another 377 participants were given a placebo. All participants had at least one risk factor for severe COVID-19. Of the participants who received the drug, 7.3% were hospitalized, while in the placebo group, 14% were hospitalized and eight of them died. The study was then supposed to enroll another 750 participants, but an independent monitoring board decided the drug was so effective that it would be unethical to continue giving anyone a placebo. Dr. William Schaffner from the Vanderbilt University Medical Center was optimistic about the results.

Dr. William Schaffner:

The Merck company announced that they have completed a trial of a new antiviral drug that can fight COVID. Shortly after infection, if you can take this pill, then you can reduce the risk of serious hospitalization and dying by 50%. Although the virus is already in our bodies, if we can prevent it from multiplying, it can't spread further in our bodies and thus, our disease severity is lessened, the illness is shortened and, of course, we're prevented from needing hospitalization and we're prevented from dying.

Dr. William Schaffner:

Having pills available that can prevent the evolution into serious disease would change the way we can treat. At the moment, people who are newly infected have to come to special treatment centers to receive their intravenous infusions. This would allow us to treat many more people much more quickly and, we trust, much less expensively. The vaccines prevent the disease completely. That's much better than having the disease develop and then having us rush to try to find a treatment that is, at its best, partially effective. So the need for vaccination, the imperative for vaccination, continues. That's the foundation of how we can get ahead of COVID.

Taylor Wilson:

Dr. Anthony Fauci yesterday called the data impressive.

Dr. Anthony Fauci:

The news of the efficacy of this particular antiviral is, obviously, very good news. The company, when they briefed us last night, had mentioned that they will be submitting their data to the FDA imminently. The data are impressive. There was a 50% diminution. Of importance is that in the placebo group there were eight deaths, and in the treatment group there were no deaths. That's also very important and very good news.

Dr. Anthony Fauci:

We always hesitate to make any timelines. The FDA will look at the data and in their usual very efficient and effective way will examine the data as quickly as they possibly can and then it will be taken from there. Because once a recommendation is made, then we go through the same process of getting the recommendation for its usage through the CDC.

Taylor Wilson:

The promising pill news comes after a horrible month for COVID-19 in the US. With more than 56,000 deaths in September, the month was more than twice as deadly as August and far deadlier than June, July, and August combined. As of today, more than 700,000 Americans have died of COVID-19, part of more than 4.7 million COVID deaths around the world. 55.6% of Americans are fully vaccinated against the virus. It's Women's March day.

Speaker 4:

My body.

Group:

My choice.

Speaker 4:

My body.

Group:

My choice.

Speaker 4:

My body.

Group:

My choice.

Taylor Wilson:

That was the scene in Washington, D.C. in January of 2020, the last time Women's Marches were held nationwide. Protestors around the country will again gather in support of reproductive rights at more than 600 marches in 50 states today. The support comes amid a renewed nationwide fight around abortion, including a Texas law that went into effect last month, banning abortions after around six weeks of pregnancy. In a tweet, the Women's March wrote, "We don't say this lightly. We're at grave risk of losing our reproductive freedoms. All of us need to fight back." The Women's March is partnering with more than 90 other organizations, including Planned Parenthood, National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice and the Working Families Party. The march comes before the Supreme Court reconvenes on Monday. The court last month declined to block the Texas abortion law, a move the Women's March said took a step toward overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision. But arguments were heard on the Texas law in another court yesterday as the AP's Paul Weber explains.

Paul Weber:

A federal judge in Texas today heard the first arguments in person over the state's strict new abortion law known as Senate Bill 8. This law took effect back in September and since then it has essentially banned most abortions in the State of Texas. The law does not allow abortions in Texas once cardiac activity is detected, which is usually around six weeks and before most women know they are pregnant.

Paul Weber:

Other states have passed similar laws to Senate Bill 8 in Texas, but the Texas law has this wrinkle which has allowed it to skirt a court ruling so far that would stop it from taking effect. And that wrinkle is that the state doesn't enforce the law. This abortion clinic breaks this law, banning abortions once cardiac activity is detected. It's not the prosecutors or the state that would seek punishment. Instead, the state leaves it up to private citizens to file lawsuits.

Taylor Wilson:

In addition to the Texas law, there's a Mississippi challenge to Roe v. Wade and the looming threat of other states doing the same. Well, the house again went home yesterday without a deal on the $1 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, which was already passed by the Senate. Democratic house speaker Nancy Pelosi said more time was needed as negotiations also continue on President Joe Biden's broader $3.5 trillion human infrastructure package. More progressive wings of the house have vowed not to vote on infrastructure until a compromise is reached on the larger package that helps America's safety net and addresses climate change. And in the Senate, Democrats Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema continue to hold up that larger bill because they say the price tag is too steep. President Joe Biden told Democrats yesterday to get both bills done, but it's clear that the price tag on the larger package will likely drop. Texas Democratic Congressman Henry Cuellar.

Henry Cuellar:

He basically said two things, one, sorry, it's not going to be 3.5, maybe two, two instead of 3.5. So, he said that. And then the other thing he basically said, we need to pass both of them.

Taylor Wilson:

Biden himself briefly told reporters that the legislation will be completed, but he shrugged off any timeline.

President Joe Biden:

I'm telling you, we're going to get this done.

Speaker 9:

How? [crosstalk 00:09:06]. How's it going to get done, sir?

President Joe Biden:

It doesn't matter when. It doesn't matter whether it's in six minutes, six days, or six weeks. We're going to get it done.

Taylor Wilson:

As always, stay with USA Today's politics coverage for all the latest. Hurricane Sam may not be making direct landfall in the United States, but that doesn't mean it won't have an effect. The Atlantic hurricane will bring potentially life-threatening surf and rip current conditions to almost the entire Eastern Seaboard this weekend. Rip currents are a deadly beach hazard that cause about 100 drowning deaths every year in the US. As of Thursday night, Sam was the most powerful storm on the planet, a category four hurricane with 145 mile an hour winds, but was more than 500 miles from the nearest land in Bermuda. This morning, Sam's winds have decreased to about 130 miles an hour and is expected to continue to weaken over the next few days.

Taylor Wilson:

Tom Brady is making his return to New England. The quarterback spent 20 years with the New England Patriots winning six Super Bowls, but he headed to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last year and won his seventh Super Bowl, his first without the Pats. Longtime Patriots fan and For The Win's Andy Nesbit breaks down this weekend's dynamic.

Andy Nesbit:

There is no way the Patriots could bring back Tom Brady. They didn't know he was going to go on and do what he was going to do. They didn't have the money to spend to make the roster better around him. It's gone really well for Tom Brady and it hasn't gone really well for the Patriots. So, this Sunday night, to me, it's like you were in a relationship for 20 years with somebody, you broke up with them. They've found a new love of their life. Their new love of their life is this great person, they're succeeding. And they're like, "Hey, Andy, can I bring my love of my life over and have dinner at your house?" Meanwhile, your house is a mess and you haven't put your life back together since that moment. And you're like, "Sure." Then 90 million people are going to sit there and watch you eat dinner. This Sunday night is going to be very awkward.

Taylor Wilson:

Brady discussed his exit from the Patriots earlier this week saying that everything was handled the right way, but also acknowledged they know he wants to kick their butt this week. If the Bucs pull off the win, Brady would become just the fourth quarterback to beat all 32 active NFL teams. He'll also likely pass Drew Brees' all-time passing yards record in the same game. You can find out tomorrow night on NBC at 8:00 Eastern, 5:00 Pacific.

Taylor Wilson:

And you can find new episodes of 5 Things seven days a week right here on this feed. Thanks, as always, to Shannon Green and Claire Thornton for their work on the show. And Claire is back with a Sunday edition tomorrow right here. I'll be back Monday with another edition of 5 Things from the USA Today network.